


Unraveling the strings of fate

by Nihlyria



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha Gladio, Bonding for Duty, Forced Bonding, Internal Conflict, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Ignis, Omegaverse, Weird family dynamics, a/b/o dynamics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-25 07:41:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21352651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nihlyria/pseuds/Nihlyria
Summary: Ignis spent his whole life taking care of the Prince of Lucis. He knew the Prince had a Shield, Gladiolus Amicitia, but with conflict of schedules, in the 12 years of service, he never met the Alpha. Now his Uncle told him that he was to meet him in a meeting, changing Ignis's view of everything, his duty, his life, and even the concept of love.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66





	Unraveling the strings of fate

Two unspoken rules of Insomnia's royal family was first to have an Alpha from the house of Amicitia as their Shield, their protector and guardian; someone that the royal family entrusts their life to without a second thought. The second was to have an Omega from the house of Scientia as their Sword, a trained, powerful assassin who was hidden under the guise of Royal Advisor; someone that was charged with the protection of the realm, to neutralize threats before they even start.

Ignis was one of these Swords, having been trained since the tender age of 6 to tend to his future king after a blood test confirmed his second gender of Omega. He still remembers the first time he met the young Prince Noctis. The Prince had just turned 5, and 6 year old Ignis was brought to him, their destinies forever intertwined from that point forward. In those twelve years together, he had, not once, met the future Shield.

It was almost strange to him, to think that he had been at Noctis's side all this time, yet never came across the young Amicitia. Gladiolus, he believed his name was. A year older than him, and most definitely an Alpha if he was to be Shield. If the 19 year old looked anything like his father, then Ignis imagined him to be rather handsome as well.

So when Ignis's uncle, Matias Scientia, current Sword to the King, came to him, informed him that he was to be formally meeting the Amicitia heir, it shouldn't have been as much of a shock as it was. He supposed it was only a matter of time and Matias had told him it was to be a dinner with not only Gladiolus, but his uncle, the King, and the King's Shield. Ignis couldn't help his suspicions of it. Something seemed off.

He stood in front of the royal dining hall's doors, fighting the sudden nervousness that was a new and foreign feeling. He had always been so sure of everything, and this was just a meeting between him and a man that he'll be working with the rest of his life, so why? Why did this feel  _ different _ ? He took a deep breath and nodded to the guard who was to announce his presence. The doors opened, his name and title said, and he stepped in, seeing the group of royals sitting at their table. Ignis approached the table and bowed before taking his seat next to his uncle.

The across from him was, at least had to be since he hadn't seen him before, Gladiolus. He was different than what he expected. Instead of the rich blue-grey eyes the Lord Shield had, his son had honey brown, almost amber eyes, reddish, dark brown-almost-black hair, and sharp features that were just that of a strong and proud Alpha. Ignis straightened himself, his jaw tensing as he tried to make himself seem larger in his seat. Gladiolus snorted at his attempt of posturing and rolled his eyes at the movement.

“I'm glad you could join us, Ignis.” Regis smiled from his seat, the Alpha King sipping his wine. “As you no doubt suspect, this is more than just a meeting. Your... uncle and Clarus have come to me to discuss an interesting proposal to be brought to you and Gladiolus. As I am to be the mediator between the two parties, I felt a proper dinner was in order.”

Ignis caught the pause Regis had when he mentioned Matias. The Scientia family had a secret that of course the King would know. While he called the man Uncle, in reality, Matias was his mother. His twin sister had died in a daemon accident, and he had no choice but to carry an heir, against their family's traditions. The Sword never carried the heir to the family, their sibling carried that task. In the case of a single child, such as Ignis, there was no choice, but in the case of Matias and his sister, Millicent was meant to be Ignis's mother, but her death forced the break in tradition. To hide it, Matias became Uncle instead of Mother. Who his father was remained a mystery.

“We thought that, perhaps, we throw the old out and begin something new.” Clarus began, smiling a little to the young Omega in the room. “After a long talk with your uncle, he and I believe it would be best for, not only the Prince, but yourself and my son if you two were a bound pair.”

“Excuse me, what?” Gladiolus straightened, looking at his father in horror. “You're kidding right? I don't even know him!”

“We are both aware that you and Ignis haven't exactly interacted,” the older Shield sighed, “but it's for the best. If Matias and I had the opportunity, we would have done this ourselves, but since our parents were painfully old school, we couldn't.”

“So you're forcing  _ us _ to live the life you can't?! That's fucked up, Dad!”

“I understand where you and my Uncle are coming from, Lord Shield.” Ignis interjected, reaching to take his drink, swirling it before taking a sip. “If Gladiolus and I were, indeed bound, if a crisis were to arise, we could use the bond to communicate. However, despite his crass words, I agree with him.”

“Ignis... If you understand this, then you will for your duty...” Matias spoke quietly, his voice softest of the group.

“That's a shit reason!” The youngest Alpha slammed his hands on the table as he stood. “I'm not going to bond to some stuck up priss that I don't even know!” He adjusted his hoodie, growling. “I ain't doing it.”

“Gladiolus, sit.” Clarus growled, glaring at his eldest. The younger Amicitia huffed and sat down, crossing his arms over his chest in an angry pout.

“Think of it as a royal betrothal,” the King finally spoke up, “as you two are, indeed, a branch of royalty. You might not be part of the Caelum family, but after Noctis, you two are the ones in line for the throne. Of course, we won't force you into going and bonding right after this meeting, that isn't what this is about. You two will have a chance to get to know each other first, and who knows, perhaps the Astrals will bless you with love.”

“Thank you, your Majesty. With your consent, I will try hard to get along with Young Lord Amicitia.” Ignis bowed in his seat, causing his Uncle to smile proudly.

“This is still bullshit...” Gladiolus grumbled, looking away from the elders of the group.

“I do have one concern.” Ignis narrowed his eyes a little at the teen across from him. “This won't affect my duties to the Prince, will it? Until now, Gladiolus and I have not crossed paths. We have had no reason, nor do our schedules cross--”

“Do not worry, Ignis,” Matias took his nephew's hand, “this won't interfere. Gladiolus's duties mainly consist of training the Prince. He only occasionally has guard duty as well, but outside of those tasks, he mainly has free time.”

“You make it sound like being a Shield isn't work.” Clarus snorted in annoyance, giving a look to Matias.

“Currently, it isn't. Once the Prince becomes King, things will be different, but as of now, Gladiolus does not have much to do. Unlike Ignis, who maintains the Prince's schedule, goes to meetings almost all day, then tends to the Prince's well-being.”

“Just how much of his... well-being does Ignis tend to?” Clarus snarled, unable to hide his anger at his position being threatened.

“I clean, do his laundry, and make his meals. I make sure the Prince has completed his homework, and that he doesn't spend all of his time in front of his television. Is there a specific task you're implying that I do, Lord Shield?” Ignis didn't look fazed by the silent accusation of him servicing the Prince. After all, the Prince is an Alpha and he being an Omega, of course it was suspected, but Ignis never offered, and Noctis never requested. The Prince would rather sleep than do anything that caused him to move.

“Perhaps the boys should leave us, so we can have a proper conversation, Clarus. They both have the day off, it would only be right if they spent it together to begin this process.” Matias's words were tight, anger held back, despite the thin veil that wanted to break. Ignis stood, bowing to the three elders, then took his leave, only knowing that Gladiolus was following him by the sound of a chair scraping against the marble floor.

He turned to the other man when the doors closed, eyeing him now that he can properly take in the Shield-in-training. He was tall, nearly a full head over him, muscular, not all that bad looking if he wasn't scowling. Ignis discreetly sniffed the air as well, trying to catch the Alpha's scent, but it currently was masked with irritation.

“So, do whatever, I'm gonna go train.”

“I'll join you.”

“Like hell. You might be this fancy pants Sword, but you're an Omega, 'nuff said with that.”

“I didn't take you as someone who discriminates based on second gender.”

“I ain't discriminating on you  _ because _ you're an Omega, but because you  _ act _ like a stereotypical one. Doting on Noct all the time like he's your child. He's told me a ton of shit about you. You don't sound like anything fuckin' special.”

“Do you always speak as if you're a villain in a gang based movie? Or are you honestly that uncultured?”

“... Fine. You wanna show that you're a bad little bitch, then let's go spar.” Gladiolus growled and started to storm off, Ignis hot on his heels after that comment. He won't allow anyone call him a bitch like that.

“Don't take this out on me, Lord Amicitia.”

“Gladio.”

“What?”

“Stop being so fuckin' formal. Just call me Gladio.” He growled, looking over his shoulder at the smaller teen.

“ _ Gladio. _ Don't blame the events on me. I had no idea what they were planning.”

“Yeah, but you rolled over and gave them your belly in submission.”

“It's for duty!”

“What about love?!” The Alpha stopped, causing Ignis to run into him. He took a step back, adjusted his glasses and glaring a little at him.

“What about it?”

“Doesn't that mean anything to you? Don't you want to find someone you  _ love _ ? Bond and mate with them? Find a person that makes your heart soar, that when you see them, it's like all the air in the room has been sucked from your lungs until they smile at you and you can breathe again.”

“You sound like a romance novel. Gladio, that doesn't exist.”

“Just because you haven't felt it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.”

“Like ghosts?” Ignis asked, raising a brow. The other teen looked confused, tilting his head a little. “Most think ghosts don't exist, but others do because they claim they've seen them.”

“... You think love... is made up?” Gladio watched Ignis start to walk away, heading towards the Crownsguard wing like they originally were. The Alpha moved, catching up to his side in no time.

“I think love is a social construct made to justify bonding and mating outside of just merely for breeding purposes.” Ignis wrinkled his nose a little at that thought. He'd have to produce an heir both for the Scientia line and the Amicitia line. Hopefully twins run in his family and wasn't just a fluke with his Uncle and deceased Aunt.

“... You're horrible.” The words were quietly said, almost sad and filled with pity. Ignis brushed it off. He had no time for those kind of emotions; love, pity, those just got in the way of his duties and tasks. He was a trained killer outside of his role as an advisor.

The rest of their walk was silent, Ignis could feel the sadness radiate off the Alpha next to him. It made his scent sour and almost drove the Omega to leave, but he  _ had _ to do this. He had to do this to get the other man to agree to the bonding. Honestly, he thought this whole process was a waste of time. His heat was a month away, they could easily complete this part of their jobs and move on.

Granted, Ignis knew bonding was more than a coupling during a heat. Bonding was a rather big deal. Once done, it can't be undone without damage to Ignis or death. He's heard stories of Alphas getting bored with their Omegas, breaking the bond, and the Omega withering to death, or going mad and sex crazed because they needed to be bred. He was giving up his life to a man he didn't know for the sake of his duty to the crown.

Perhaps that's why Gladio wasn't complying with this.

Gladio opened the door to the training hall, motioning for Ignis to go in first. The Omega nodded and entered the room, taking off his jacket and setting it on the nearest bench. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and rolled up the sleeves as he kicked off his shoes. Had he known that he would have been sparring he would have dressed less restrictive. Unlike his current companion, he didn't see wearing a hoodie and sweatpants to a meeting with the King a smart idea.

“Training weapons or shall we use our real ones?” He turned just in time to watch the hoodie fly to the bench, the sight of a tight tank top over finely sculpted muscles. His breath faltered, catching in his throat as he stared, eyes tracing over each line of definition.

“Ignis. Hello, Ignis.” The Omega jerked, remembering how to breathe again as he stared at Gladio with wide eyes.

“Y-yes?”

“You okay there?” The Alpha looked amused, moving over to him. “You were staring. Never seen someone with muscles before?”

“Not as defined as yours, no. It's rather impressive.”

“Yeah? Thanks. I'm goin' in next week to get the traditional Amicitia tattoo. Enkidu, the first Shield's companion. We all get it.”

“Yes, I've seen your father's when I was younger. He would spar with my Uncle while I would sit and do my homework.”

“You close to your Uncle?” Gladio went over to the weapon rack, rolling his shoulders. Ignis followed, nodding a little.

“Yes. While he has cousins, we never see them. He's the only family I have.” Ignis grabbed the spear as Gladio took the broadsword.

“Your parents?”

“That's rather complicated. I have no idea who my father is, and my mother...” Ignis frowned, not wanting to spill the secret or explain the complexity of the situation.

“Right... Same daemon attack that killed my mother, right? You don't have to explain further.” The older teen moved to the centre of the room, stretching some. “Sucks about not knowing who your father is, though. Does your Uncle know?”

“Yes, however when I asked when I was younger, he would tell me it wasn't important. I never pressed. Now I have no desire to know. If my father didn't make an attempt to be in my life, then why waste energy on them?” Ignis followed, twirling the spear for a warm up. He swung it into a fighting stance, eyeing Gladio down.

“You're pretty easy to get information out of. I expected a fight when I asked questions.” Gladio smirked and took his own stance.

“The faster you get to know me, the faster you'll agree to this bonding.”

“... It's really sad that you'll just give in the instant the word duty comes up.” He shook his head and launched himself towards the Omega, their weapons clashing and ringing through the hall. Ignis managed to hook the spear into one of the slots in the centre of the sword, pinning it to the ground, a move causing his body to press against Gladio's.

“How about we make this interesting? If I win this spar, we bond, next month.”

“What?! Next month?!”

“I have a heat next month. It's the ideal time to do so.”

“And if I win, we take time to get to know each other, and decide if we're going to do this, but you have to be open to us  _ not _ bonding if we come to the conclusion that we can't get along.” They parted, circling each other on the mat.

“Gladio, we were asked to do this as part of our job.”

“Here we go again with that. Okay, explain to me why you're so willing to risk your life for this. Without saying because it's our duty. What about me makes you want to bond with me?”

“...” Ignis stopped, staring at him for a moment, a frown coming over his lips.

“Exactly. You don't know me, Ignis. I don't know you.”

“Then you best beat me.”

Their weapons clashed, their feet danced, and it seemed like hours passed before they both started to tire. One faltered step would cost either their desired win. The sun began to set as they continued, having to switch weapons as they go as each blow caused damage to their practice weapons. Before either of them realized it, they had switched to their real weapons, the tang of metal on metal vibrating through the room.

Ignis dodged a blow from the massive greatsword in time to swipe his leg out, the heel of his foot colliding with Gladio's knee, causing the Alpha to go down. Before he could get back up, a dagger rested against his neck, the Omega winning the spar. He panted hard, a small quirk of his lips forming a smile.

“Seems you'll be my mate after all...”

“Fuck you...” Gladio pushed the dagger away with a growl, standing up and glaring at the other. “You wanna ruin your life fine, but if I find another that I love, I'm taking a second mate.”

“Fine. That saves me from having to give you an heir.” Ignis dismissed his daggers in a flurry of blue sparks. He watched Gladio twitch and turn away, sadness on his features once more.

“You're just... you're just horrible...”

—————————

Ignis sat on the balcony to his and his Uncle's Citadel apartment, sipping his coffee as he stared at the stars in the sky. Gladio's words kept running through his head. Was he horrible? The Alpha called him that twice today. No, he wasn't horrible, he just had to complete his duty, no matter the cost. Hadn't Gladio been trained the same? Are Swords and Shields that different in training? The way Lord Shield acted, surely duty was just as important. Maybe... Maybe the Amicitia line was more lenient than the Scientia line.

“You're home... I expected you to be out with Gladiolus...” Matias came out to join him, sitting across with a steaming cup of tea. “Did you try to spend time with him?”

“I did. We sparred.” Ignis didn't mean for his words to be clipped, but the events kept replaying in his head.  _ You're just horrible _ . “Uncle... Is it wrong to be driven to... strive to complete your duties?”

“No, not at all. It's who we are, Ignis. Duty comes first, it's something a royal must accept. Unfortunately, things like love are put to the side. It's secondary.”

“... Did you love my father?”

“Ignis...”

“Was I bore from duty?”

“If you must know, you were an accident.” Matias admitted, looking down at his cup. “I had gone into heat and your father helped. Next thing I knew, I was carrying you. Millicent and her husband, they were going to raise you as their own, but...” He drew a breath in, looking up at the teen across from him. “Ignis, what did Gladiolus say to you? You've never been so unsure.”

“... That I'm horrible for agreeing to this without question. Should I have questioned this more? Should I have fought more?”  _ Should I actually see if I'm capable of love? _ Ignis frowned, drinking down his coffee.

_ It's like all the air in the room has been sucked from your lungs until they smile at you and you can breathe again. _ That had happened when Ignis actually saw Gladio, unburdened from that hoodie that that hid him. He had forgotten how to breathe for a moment until his name was called. However, was that love or just lust? Gladio was easy on the eyes, and Ignis was only human, even he had needs.

“My darling...” He reached over and cupped Ignis's hand. “I understand where your worry comes from. I, too, felt this. When you live your life dedicating yourself to your duty, your tasks makes you seem... robotic to others, that you're unfeeling or uncaring. They... have to get to know you. Know that you're just like them, with feelings, emotions, wants, needs. You aren't that robot.”

“Uncle...”

“Ignis, I know this is hard. You've never interacted with Gladiolus before this, he doesn't know you, and is most likely just as scared over this as you are. Just give it time.”

“We made the spar a bet. If I won, we bind to each other next month, but if he won, we would try to get to know each other...”

“And who won?”

“I did.” Matias nodded, sipping his tea, looking out over the balcony railing. The two sat in silence, sipping their drinks as they just enjoyed each others' company. The calming scent of the older Omega always put Ignis at ease, a tiny smile on his lips as he finished his coffee.

“You have a heat next month...” Matias finally spoke, pulling the tea bag from his cup. “It's why you pushed for next month, isn't it?”

“Yes. Was it wrong of me to?”

“A month is enough time to interact, to learn more. Perhaps you can find common ground.”

“He's mad at me, Uncle. I don't know how well he will be amenable to finding that common ground. He wants a romance novel love.”

“Mmm... much like his father.” Matias smiled a little to himself. “They read those silly books.” Ignis nodded, then stood. He leaned in and kissed his Uncle's head as he bid him a good night and retired to his room.

Love. He didn't know why he was so against it; why he thought it wasn't real. He loved his Uncle after all, the man gave him life, but he was aware that love was also just a chemical in the brain. Matias's scent was home, was safety. Coming home after a long day and just catching that his Uncle was home as well, made everything better.

Would he get that when he and Gladio bond? Would he get the feeling of home from the Alpha?

Perhaps that was what made him hesitate about this, even though he had already accepted that it was going to happen. He was going to have to move out, leaving Matias alone, and that made him hesitate. Maybe he'd finally settle down as well, find a mate and just--

Ignis shook his head. He was overthinking the situation, and worse, he  _ had _ to already be feeling his impending heat if he was thinking like this. These thoughts weren't normal at all for him. He flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was a teenager, of course he doesn't have his life together yet. His hormones were of course being ridiculous. Gladio was a large, muscular, incredible specimen of an Alpha. He probably made other Alphas jealous.

The Omega let out a soft whine as he rolled over, looking at the window. Maybe he should go for a walk, the cool air might be good for him. Ignis got off his bed and opened his window, letting the wind hit him. He sighed softly, closing his eyes as he just… just…

His heat is early.

Ignis snapped to realization, hurrying to his phone and fumbling with it as he tried to turn it on. He needed to get Gladio here now. Yes they had agreed for next month, but of course, his body betrayed him completely.

He went through the directory he had of all those associated with the Prince, found Gladio’s number and quickly texted the Alpha.

**Scientia I.: ** Gladio, this is Ignis, my heat started unexpectedly. Please come to my apartments in the Citadel as soon as you can.

He chewed on his lip as he watched his phone, hoping the Alpha would respond quickly. The time ticked on, and after 15 minutes, a reply finally appeared.

**Amicitia G.:** Like hell. It hasn’t been a month, Ignis. It’s been a couple of hours. Fuck yourself.

Ignis stared at his phone, slowly sitting on his bed. 

What was he going to do?

**Author's Note:**

> Did I need to start a new story? No, I didn't, but if you've read my other stories, you know my year has been total shit. This idea has been nagging at me for the past month, and since I need to get back into the mindset of writing, I thought, let's do it.


End file.
